Chapter 36 Let her marry Xie Yu!

“Ah!!!—” Chang Meili hadn’t even finished her sentence when Zhao Xiulan grabbed her hair tightly.
“You sly fox! You seduced my son, didn’t you?!” Zhao Xiulan shouted while slapping Chang Meili’s face.
In pain, Chang Meili scrambled into Xie Jianguo’s arms, and he got slapped a few times too.
Zhao Xiulan, used to hard farm work, had plenty of strength. She was ruthless with Chang Meili.
Her slaps made Xie Jianguo really angry.
“Mom! Stop it! Do you think I haven’t been embarrassed enough at the brigade?!” he shouted, pushing Zhao Xiulan away and pulling Chang Meili into a protective embrace.

Zhao Xiulan didn’t expect her once filial son to suddenly turn against her for a woman.
She looked at Chang Meili with even more hatred. It was all this little vixen’s fault—she had seduced her precious son!
She glared fiercely at Chang Meili, then turned to Xie Jianguo and said,
“Jianguo! I don’t agree with you marrying her! That woman isn’t clean! She’s involved with that Zhao guy!”

Chang Meili saw this and didn’t even bother to cry anymore. She quickly explained,
“I didn’t! Jianguo, it’s… it’s my cousin, she… sob sob…”
She leaned into Xie Jianguo’s arms for comfort.

Zhao Xiulan was furious. She wanted to pull Chang Meili’s hair out to teach her a lesson, but seeing how Xie Jianguo was protecting her, all she could do was curse harshly,
“You’re a loose woman trying to blame others?! Who in the brigade doesn’t know you sneak off to the woods with that Zhao guy? Ugh! And now you have the nerve to climb into my son’s bed!”

“Enough!” The village chief saw Zhao Xiulan’s voice growing louder, and outside people were starting to gather, probably to watch the drama. If they kept arguing, the Xie family would become the whole village’s joke!
The village chief gave Xie Jianguo a cold look, his voice stern,
“If you want to marry Chang Meili, then why did you try to mess around with Chang Zhiqing? Get back to the pigsty right now! I, Xie Gui, disown you as my son!”

Zhao Xiulan didn’t want Chang Meili to marry in, but if forbidding it meant her son got sent to the pigsty, that was another matter.
“Old man, don’t get so worked up…” she hurriedly pulled the village chief aside, “Jianguo’s body still isn’t well…”

The village chief shrugged off Zhao Xiulan,
“Don’t get worked up? How can I not? The Chang family wants to exchange marriages, and you agree to this? What about Chang Zhiqing?”
Besides, Chang Meili and Zhao Hang had just been locked up for messing around. Now Jianguo wants to marry her—he might as well be throwing away his own face!

Zhao Xiulan glanced at Chang Meili, her eyebrows furrowed deeply. She pulled Xie Gui aside,
“Old man, the Chang family wants to exchange marriages, meaning Chang Suisui marries into our family. If Jianguo can’t marry her, isn’t there someone else who can?”

Xie Gui frowned immediately,
“You want Liye to marry Chang Zhiqing? How old is he?”

Zhao Xiulan’s face stiffened. With a troublesome daughter-in-law like Chang Meili, she didn’t want both sisters coming to her house causing trouble.
She forced a smile,
“I mean, the younger brother isn’t married yet…”

“No!” Before Zhao Xiulan finished, Xie Gui rejected it outright,
“Xie Yu’s leg is bad, and Chang Zhiqing is weak. How would they live their lives together?”

Chang Meili and Xie Jianguo sat nearby and overheard the conversation clearly.
Hearing the name “Xie Yu,” Chang Meili’s eyes suddenly lit up. That man would die in six months! If Chang Suisui married him, she’d be widowed in the village!

Excited, Chang Meili quickly spoke,
“I heard from Jianguo that Comrade Xie is a disabled veteran and probably gets a pension? Even if he doesn’t farm, my cousin shouldn’t suffer…”

Xie Jianguo frowned. He recalled that Chang Meili had said Suisui liked him, and now hearing they wanted to marry Suisui to Xie Yu made him uneasy.
His face darkened as he muttered unhappily,
“She’s Meili’s cousin; if she marries my younger uncle, the generations will be confused…”

Xie Gui, already annoyed, slapped Xie Jianguo on the head with a belt,
“Who’s messing around with women here?! If you can’t talk, shut up!”
His blows were hard, and the belt had metal pieces inside, splitting Xie Jianguo’s forehead.

Chang Meili and Xie Jianguo immediately went silent.

Zhao Xiulan saw that although Xie Gui was angry, he didn’t oppose Suisui marrying Xie Yu. She hurried on,
“Old man, think about it—how old is the younger brother? Boys his age elsewhere are already running errands. You have to make sure he has an heir, right?”

Xie Gui was somewhat moved but hesitant thinking of Xie Yu’s leg.
“Ah… forget it, I’ll go ask Chang Zhiqing…”

“No need, no need, it’s easier for us women to handle this,” Zhao Xiulan quickly stopped him, “You’re a big man trying to discuss marriage with a young girl? Even if she agrees, she wouldn’t say it out loud.”

Xie Gui thought about it and sighed,
“All right, I’ll leave it to you, but remember, if Chang Zhiqing refuses, don’t pressure her.”
Though he liked Chang Zhiqing’s positivity, he wouldn’t force her.

Zhao Xiulan smiled,
“Don’t worry, old man, I won’t make things hard for Chang Zhiqing…”
She’d do whatever it took to get her married to Xie Yu—Suisui would have to agree eventually!

“But…” Xie Jianguo felt headache thinking about finding a wife for Xie Yu. He knew his brother’s stubborn personality. Even if Chang Zhiqing agreed, if his brother didn’t, it’d be a problem.

Xie Gui frowned harder,
“If Xie Yu doesn’t agree…”

Zhao Xiulan almost lost her composure. A crippled man had no right to be picky! But she couldn’t say that in front of Xie Gui, who still valued his brother.

Clearing her throat, she said,
“Old man, don’t worry, I’ll persuade my younger brother-in-law. I’m his sister-in-law after all; he can’t ignore me.”

Even if Xie Yu refused, what could he do? Being disabled, she had plenty of ways…